He Knew
by The Unforgettable Sound
Summary: Greg has something to tell Nick. Slash, NickxGreg


He Knew  
The Unforgettable Sound  
Rating: PG-13. Gay couples but they're okay.  
Summary: Greg has something to tell Nick. Slash, NickxGreg  
A/N: I got this idea strictly off the first sentence. I'm in this really weird writing mode right now. It's freaking me out. I'm not me anymore. Oh, yeah; fuck the shift split. Yeah, that's right. I said it. Do you know what that means? It means splitshift doesn't exist in this story. Oh, yeah. Greg's still the lab tech. No CSI-ing here, sowwy.  
Disclaimer: So this is new. I actually forgot to put this here, I haven't written fanfiction in _so_ long...Anyway, I don't own anything; Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders, the actors who play them on CSI, I don't own CSI, CBS, the lab, or anything else you can possibly think of. But I _do_ own this plotline and it's _mine_ so back off. xD

"Hey, G, you okay?"

Greg Sanders raised his head from the table he was sitting at. Nick Stokes was standing in the doorway of the lab, looking intently at the lab tech.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Greg flashed him a smile, keeping his eyes down. Nick had an odd way of searching someone's eyes...almost "reading their mind."

Nick looked harder at Greg but let it go. "Got my results yet?"

"Yeah! The, uh, fingerprints found on the knife weren't the sons,"

Nick gave him a look of utter confusion. "Weren't the sons? But--,"

"Ah, let me finish. They weren't the sons--they were the daughters." Greg said, handing Nick the results.

"The daughter? I didn't think..."

"My theory is that the daughter killed the parents and framed the brother by cutting her own stomach open, which is why it was such an awkward cut,"

Nick skimmed through the pages. Greg had seemed to perk up when the results were brought up. It wasn't much of a surprise, though; Greg loved his job, even if it was a little crowded. It was _his_ lab. And he got paid more than the CSIs. "Why do you say that?"

Greg raised his eyebrows with a smile. "I didn't find any fingerprints that belonged to the brother on that knife,"

Nick studied Greg and the results a moment longer before smiling back. "Alright. Thanks," and he left.

Greg spun back around in his chair and set his head on the table again, perkiness suddenly gone. Lately he wondered if it wasn't the results that got him excited, but Nick instead.

"Oh, god..."

-----

Greg worked through cases and evidence through the night, hoping that it could take his mind of the Texas raised CSI. Much to his dismay, it didn't. Everything brought Nick back up to his mind; Nick's evidence, Nick's little comments, waves from the hallway. The team caught on quickly that you didn't mess with Greg Sanders; everyone except Grissom, that is...but then again, Grissom had hired him. Anyway, Nick had the brains to stay on the lab rats good side.

Nick came in around two o'clock, visiting Greg with coffee. "Thought you might need this, you looked pretty out of it," he handed a styrofoam cup to Greg, which he gratefully took. "What d'you got for me?"

Greg set the coffee down. "Warrick and Sara's evidence hasn't gotten through processing yet..." he said, looking down at the table, refusing to meet the Texan's gaze once again.

"And Catherine and me, what about our evidence...?" Nick seemed to be waiting for an answer, and Greg couldn't give him one.

"I'm sorry...There wasn't anything on the shirt. Somebody knew how to clean it," Greg picked up the cup again, taking a long drink from it. It scorched his tongue but it didn't matter. Anything with sugar and caffine was heaven to him, even if it did burn his esophagus.

"What about the--?"

"Nothing. Sometimes you don't always get fingerprints..." he finally met Nick's eyes and gave him a sad smile. There was a change of emotion on the CSI's face before he sat down next to Greg and gave him a look.

"What's wrong?" he said, raising an eyebrow at the lab rat.

"I already told you, nothing's wrong..." Greg turned around, ready to process Warrick and Sara's evidence. Anything as long as it made Nick leave. "Can you go? I'm busy,"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's up," Nick said stubbornly. Greg let out an exasperated sigh and turned back around.

"You." he said simply, eyebrows rising and falling.

Nick gave him a look of amusement. Was Greg playing a game? Was he joking? Or was he actually serious? "Me?" he said, fighting his emotions.

"Yes, you. Will you go now?" Greg tried to point him out of the room, but Nick stayed put. People were crowding around the lab now, watching even though they couldn't hear anything. Apparently the actions and motions of the two made it quite obvious something had happened between them.

"No. Tell me what's wrong with me." Nick crossed his arms and glared at Greg, proving he wasn't going anywhere until he got his answer. It was times like these the younger man knew without a doubt that Nick made a good CSI. Greg closed his eyes and sighed again, wishing he would've lied, said there was a girl...anything but let Nick onto how he really felt, and sure as hell not mid-shift.

Greg sunk to the floor, hiding his face in his hands. The rest of the team could no longer see him; there were tables between the lab tech and his co-workers. Nick still sat in front of him.

"It's..._you_. I..." he shook his head and laughed a little, nervously. "You know...sometimes your outlook on people suddenly change and you realize that however you thought of them before, it's not how you think of them now and you just want it to stop being so heartwrenchingly painful...because it hurts so _bad_ and you want it to stop..."

Nick's hard look was gone in an instant. "...What?" Greg lifted his head and made eye contact with him.

"I love you," he said clearly, enunciating words perfectly. If he made a mistake, he'd have to repeat himself, and that wasn't something he wanted to do at the moment.

Nick's jaw seemed to drop a fraction of an inch. "You what?" he asked. Greg knew he had heard what was said and didn't repeat himself, knowing Nick would answer. "Why? How? When?"

"I know we've only hung out a number of times, but...I notice all the little things you do. The way you're so..._physical_ when you talk to people. And you're almost always smiling. And it's weird because I've only loved a _guy_ once before in my life," Greg explained, having decided an explaination was required for the Texan. Nick suddenly had the decency to close his mouth.

"Well," was all he said. For a moment, Nick Stokes was at a loss for words.

After a few moments of silence, Greg started speaking again. "I don't have a reason for being attracted to you. You're from Texas and I'm one of those...surfer...guys from Cali. It doesn't make sense to anyone, and it sure as hell doesn't make sense to me...but...the way I imagine it...it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. It sounds so...right..."

"Well, Greggo, you've never made sense before, why start now?" Greg thought the comment was hurtful, until he looked up and saw a smile - _that_ smile, the one that just proved everything was going to be okay - on Nick's face and felt one growing on his own face. "So you love me, huh?"

"Yeah." Greg swallowed. Nick was taking it well; but was that bad? Or was it good? "I love you," something was in Nick's eyes and the tension in the room had changed. It wasn't a sexual tension, or an angry tension...It seemed to be a comfortable tension, awaiting the answer that Greg knew would change his life forever, whether being for the better or for the worse.

Nick nodded and helped Greg up, pulling him into a hug. Confused, Greg reluctantly hugged him back. When Nick pulled away, the smile was gone. Greg could almost scream; was Nick happy or was he pissed? Disgusted? Obviously not disgusted - he's still here isn't he? "About damn time," he said.

"I - what?" Greg's eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead while a smile was fighting it's way back onto Nick's face.

"About. Damn. Time," he said again, louder and clearer. Greg swallowed, afraid to talk. What if he screwed things up? Things were already awkward enough between them, Greg switching his weight onto the opposite foot about every thirty seconds to show that. "You know how long I waited for you to _finally_ acknowledge this?"

"You...you knew?" Greg asked.

Nick snorted lightly. "Of course. You were pretty obvious, especially with the staring," Dammit. Greg cursed himself for staring so often. "Hey, G, it's alright," he said lightly, his hand reaching out to clasp his shoulder. His hand arrived at it's destination, but slid down Greg's arm and grapsed his hand, bringing it up to his chest and placing his left hand over it as well.

Greg almost forgot to breathe. "What're you doing?" he asked, his voice higher than normal. Nick was acting strange. _Very_ strange. Greg swallowed and took a deep breath, waiting for the CSI's next words.

"What I should've done a long time ago," Nick answered before leaning in and brushing his lips against Greg's. The contact made the two shiver, and they desolved into the kiss, forgetting completely about the team surrounding the lab. The lab tech's free hand found it's way to the back of Nick's neck, pushing him deeper into the kiss. He could feel Nick's heartbeat through his left hand; faster than normal and still gaining speed.

Cheering erupted from outside the lab. Nick pulled away and turned to face the team, who had opened the door. Greg blushed, embarrassed, but the looks of content from his coworkers earned a grin. Nick dropped Greg's hand and stood there, obviously waiting for a look of...something...from Grissom and Catherine. Catherine's voice broke the sudden silence and she ushered everyone back to work. "Cases to solve, people!" she called after them after they lingered a little too long.

Grissom raised his eyebrows with a smile and left as well. Nick let out a sigh as the door closed and Grissom was no longer in sight. Greg smiled at Nick brightly. Everything had fallen into place and everything was going to be okay. Nick cleared his throat and broke Greg from his thought.

"Ground rules, okay?" he said, almost professionally. Greg nodded. "Don't bring it into work." Bring what? Greg raised an eyebrow quizically. Nick sighed. "Our personal lives. Don't bring it into work. It could get us fired or suspended," Greg nodded understandingly. Nick smiled and nodded back. "Alright..."

"I...have to get back to work," Greg said quietly, wishing Nick wouldn't hear it. But he did. He nodded and kissed the lab rat once more before leaving. "Love you," Greg called after him before the door shut after him. It didn't bother him that Nick didn't say it back; after all, it _was_ a lot to take in.

Greg watched him round the corner before finally getting to Warrick and Sara's evidence.

The door opened again moments later, and a voice cut through the soft silence of the lab. "Oh, and Greg?" deep in thought, Greg jumped and looked with wide eyes at the owner of the voice, even though it was quite obvious from the Texas drawl who it was.

"Yeah?" he asked, licking his lips.

"I love you, too," Nick smiled before closing the lab door. A small grin began on Greg's face, but he turned around before it became fullblown.

* * *

_i fixed a few spelling mistakes and changed some words. thanks to _**knadineg** _and _**key-to-life** _for reviewing and adding me to favorites. it means a lot to me, really. if i can repay you at all, please let me know. ...and i don't see the copyright notice anymore...huh...so you guys should feel pretty special for me putting this up for you to read without having that..._  



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